Rani Divine's Blog, page 38

What's in a draft?

I’m back! I hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving! Don’t forget that there’s a sale going on at the RAD Store, where you can get BOTH Druid Novels for only $28, signed and personalized by yours truly! It’s only available for a limited time, so hop on over and buy some books for the readers in your life (yes, you can also buy them for you)!
Today, I want to talk to the writers in the crowd. Again. Because I’m a writer. It makes good sense.
See, I’m working on two novels right now. One of them, I’m in draft #1, and the other I’m in draft #3. Sound confusing? That’s because it is. And that’s also what I want to talk to you about: drafts. We all know them. Sometimes we love them, sometimes we hate them. But we all have to work with them.
The important thing to remember, the thing I want to talk to you about today, is the importance of remembering what draft you’re on.
If you’re on your first draft, don’t treat it like it’s your fifth.
Your first draft is supposed to be sloppy. It’s allowed to be a mess, and to have plotholes as far as the eye can see. It’s where you get all your ideas onto paper and allow the story to start to take shape, but it’s not where you refine it and make sure everything is concise and consistent.
The first draft is where you play with the story, where you push the boundaries and try things that should never be allowed to happen. It’s where you experiment, where you have the most fun. But you should never treat it like it’s supposed to be the most beautiful draft ever.
Why? Because first drafts are almost always a mess, at least in the little ways. They weren’t meant to shine and sparkle yet, because they’re not done.
By the same token, never treat a fifth draft like it’s a first draft. That’s not what it is. It’s not a diamond in need of cutting, but one that needs a shine. It already has the basic storyline in place, already has most of the errors already mended. It’s getting itself primped and prepared to go out into the world for the first time. Don’t treat it like an infant. It’s a college student, getting ready to graduate. Let it stand on its own feet.
Above all, always focus on the draft you’re on. No matter what draft that is, whether it’s a newborn covered in stuff nobody wants to see or it’s a newly dubbed professional ready to take its place in the world, give it the light and the time it deserves. Remember what it is, and treat it as such. Every draft deserves it. 
So whether you've just finished your first novel and you're getting ready to start the next draft, or you're only now starting to put pen to paper, remember what you're doing. You're drafting, and each of our stories are in a different phase of life. 
[love]
{RD}

Thank ye

I feel like this keeps happening lately, but once again, I’ll be on hiatus this week! As per usual, I spend the holidays with my family—and I hope that each of you will get to do so as well. Thanksgiving is my mum’s favorite holiday, and I’m very happy to get to spend this week celebrating with her. I'm a Christmas kind of girl myself, but Thanksgiving is always a lot of fun too.
But I still wanted to take a little time to talk to you guys! I couldn’t just leave you high and dry!
To that end…
Be Thankful
I feel like this is a message we need to hear lately, especially in the States. People are hurting over the election, they’re freaking out over what’s going to happen next, and they’re worried over everything around them. Life isn’t supposed to be that way. It’s just plain not, no matter what anyone else might've told you. 
So be thankful. When you wake up every morning, say a few things you’re thankful for. When you go to bed, do the same. And if you think you don’t have anything to be thankful for, then think again. There’s always something we can be thankful for.
Me?  I’m thankful that I got to go to Europe with Mum That I enjoy what I do For breath in my lungsFor my familyFor MavguardFor a place to live and a pillow to lay my head onFor fountain pensFor the Mythbusters
See? Lots of things. It doesn’t have to be anything profound, anything that would make someone gasp or nearly faint. It just has to be something for which you’re thankful.
And trust me, it’ll help you to see your life in a new light. Be thankful that we live in a country where we’re free to express ourselves and our opinions, be thankful that there are people around you who care about you. Be thankful for shoes on your feet and chapstick in your pocket. Just… be thankful.
That’s my two cents, this Thanksgiving week. Be thankful. Never forget that there’s something to be thankful for, even when you’re not feeling it. Never stop being thankful. Your life will be all the brighter for it—and we could use more bright lives in this world. 
[love]
{Rani Divine}

How's it going?

To those of you who are participating in NaNoWriMo:
How’s it going? Are you keeping up with your daily word counts? Are your stories turning out beautiful and vivid?
To those who aren’t: How’s it going? Are you still working on your story? Is it as beautiful as you envisioned it to be, when you started?
See, we don’t all have to be participating to still be writing. I talked a little bit about that last time. I’m still working on a new novel (technically, I’m working on two), even though I’m not participating in NaNoWriMo.
And that’s the gist of what I have to say today:
You should be writing, whether you’re in NaNoWriMo or not.
Especially if you’re a writer.
Personally, I think that everyone should write. Whether it’s writing technical stuff, blogs, recipes, articles, or novels, everyone should write. It’s a learning experience, every time you sit down to do it. Trust me, I would know. ;-) But for writers, it’s even more important. It’s in our name, people! We’re writers, and writers write. Whether it’s NaNoWriMo or not.
See, when we confine ourselves to only writing in either of the National Novel Writing Months, we’re leaving out a whole ten months where we could be writing. And that’s a problem. Yeah, yeah, we spent a lot of that time catching up on our reading and editing the novels we wrote during NaNoWriMo, but still—it’s not an excuse to stop writing.
Even when I’m editing a book, I’m always writing another one at the same time.
I don’t intend to brag, but yeah, that’s the truth. I’m usually working on two or three of my own projects at a time, while juggling editing and submissions for Mavguard Magazine, while working with the design team to make sure each edition is more stunning than the last, while living my life and taking time for myself. I always make sure I’m writing, whenever I have the opportunity to do so.
That’s one of the reasons why I started Too Many Books to Count. It’s a way for me to keep writing, even when I don’t feel like writing one of my novels or working on another project. It’s a place for me to talk about writing, to hang out with people like me, writers, creatives.
That’s my suggestion to you. Whatever you do, write. Find a way to squeeze it into your schedule, whether it’s by blogging or journaling, noveling or just plain booking. Do it. Write. And don’t ever stop—even when the curtains fall and NaNoWriMo is over.
Above all, never stop writing.
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Doesn't matter

Last time, we talked about NaNoWriMo and why it’s currently so popular. But of course, there’s another side of the spectrum as well, quite obviously. There are those of us who simply cannot participate in NaNoWriMo, and those of us who wouldn’t dream of joining in either way. And those are the people I want to talk about today. Those silent few who stand against NaNoWriMo for one simple fact: we can’t write like that.
Why it doesn’t matter if you NaNoWriMo or not
Many times, as of late, writers have spoken to me as though NaNoWriMo is their way of life, the only opportunity they have in which to sit down and write. And if that really is the case, then that’s just sad. I certainly hope they’re lying, if only to themselves. Because NaNoWriMo isn’t supposed to be the only time of the year when you write. It’s supposed to be something to push you to write, to get started and get going, but not a crutch to hold you in one place all the time.
In prior years, I used to say that I participated in NaNoWriMo, but really, that’s not the case. I’ve never done it. Granted, I also don’t consider 50,000 words to be a full length novel, and I prefer full length novels. I would have to write twice the amount of the average participant in order to reach my goal, which in a full schedule is sometimes just not possible.
But really, the thing is, it doesn’t matter.
Like I said before, NaNoWriMo is a great tool. But that’s all that it is. It’s a stepping stone, a building block, to get you to where you’re comfortable writing every day. That’s what it’s supposed to be.
Don’t use it as a crutch.
If you’re an avid NaNoWriMo-er, and you constantly take part in the competition, I hope that you hear me. Some of us just can’t write like that. We can’t get a whole book out in a month, because our brains just don’t work that way. But you know what we can still do? We can still write. And we will. Just not within the confines of the NaNoWriMo schedule. We’ll write throughout the year, whenever we have time to do so, and we’ll write works that are far more cohesive than anything I’ve ever seen fresh off the NaNoWriMo high.
And no, maybe our style isn’t for beginners. If you’re just starting out, try NaNoWriMo. It’ll help you to get the words on the page and get going, give you a boost into the world of writing. But if you’ve been writing for a while, then it’s time to step back from participation in NaNoWriMo. It’s time to write outside the regime, outside their standards. Write something more, something connected and cohesive, something well thought out and less in need of a major overhaul.
But the main thing is, it doesn’t matter, either way. As long as you’re getting words on the page, as long as you’re doing it, you’re writing, it doesn’t matter if you participate or not.
Me? I’m not participating this year. I have a new novel that I’m working on, but I have far too many projects right now to commit myself to writing so much of this thing in less than a month. With a story so full of dualities, I need to devote more time to it than that.
That, my friends, is maturity in writing. I knew, this year, that I didn’t have a story I could devote to NaNoWriMo. I knew that. I wanted to join in, yes, even in the limited capacity that I'd done in years prior, but I couldn’t do that to my story. But you know what? I’m still writing. Little by little, bit by bit. And you’ll still see another of my books hit shelves next year.
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Why?

NaNoWriMo is this month! Obviously, I’m very late in talking about it. Oh well. I had better things to post about ;-)
For the rest of this month, I want to talk about NaNoWriMo. There’s a lot to talk about, for us writers, and a lot that we should consider when we’re thinking about starting our manuscript or even when we’re in the throes of it all. So that’s what I’m going to do.
The first thing I want to talk about is NaNoWriMo in general.
Why the heck is this thing so popular?
Let’s start by defining it, for the few of you who don’t know what it is. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and actually takes place twice a year: once in April, and once in November. The latter one is usually the biggest of the two, though I couldn’t tell you why. Personally, I get a lot more writing done in April than I ever can in November, holidays and all.
But this is a month when everyone tries to write a book. Whether they’re writers or not, they dedicate this month to sitting down and getting a book out of themselves. After all, they say nearly everyone has a story inside them, just waiting for the opportunity to come out and play.
So that’s what it is… but again, why is it so popular?
I’ll tell you.
The world, in its current state, frequently tries to shut down creativity. They want the masses to go with the flow and be predictable, to do what they’re told to do. Which is exactly how things like NaNoWriMo get to be so huge. They’re a way for all of us, whether we associate with the term “creative” or not, to break out of the bubble and do something different for a change, something that’s creative and (hopefully) beautiful.
These months are the two times in a year when people unite together and are proud to be creative, to be expressing themselves in this new and exciting way. These days, that doesn’t happen very often. So November and April become times when we can band together instead of pushing each other apart. We unite under one banner, if only for a month, to declare that we are writers.
But no, not all of us actively participate.
That, dear friends, is what I’ll be saving for next time.
This time, I just want to say this:
Whether you’re a fan of NaNoWriMo or not, this is a chance for you to unite with people you would never otherwise find anything in common with, an opportunity for us to stretch ourselves and join a community unlike any other. So whether you always join NaNoWriMo or you utterly despise it, don’t look down on those who do it. We’re not all in it for the glory of writing, or for the purpose of publication. Some of us just want to write, to do something we’ve never done before, and to stand with a group of people who would never otherwise consider us.
Stand tall, my friends, my NaNoWriMo compatriots, and write on.
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Top Five: The Silly Edition

Today is the last day that I’ll really be talking to you about Mum and my travels in Europe. That’s a little sad for me, to think that it’s finally over… so I wanted to do something fun, something that would cheer me up a bit. That being the case, today’s final episode of Top Five is one that I’ve been working on for a while, one that I actually started compiling while we were on the trip, and that I never really found a place to share before.
Top Five Funny Things From Our Trip To Europe
This might be a little difficult to recount, but I’m going to do my best. Some of these things were definitely “you had to be there” moments, but they were still hilarious and I wanted to take the opportunity to share them with you.
As always, they’re in no order in particular, except that the last is the one I found the most amusing.
American AccentsThis one took place in Dublin, and probably wouldn’t have been so funny except for the accent in which it was spoken. See, we were staying with an Italian man and his Brazilian wife, while staying in Dublin. Stuff like that happened a lot. But this place was the only one where our host actually provided breakfast for us every morning. One of those mornings, we got to talking. For the sake of brevity and anonymity, I’ll call our host M. M, being from Italy, speaks with a thick Italian accent. He rolls all of his r’s and he tried very hard to pronounce things in English very clearly, so that we have the best chance of understanding what he’s trying to say. Well, apparently that’s a two way street. Our next stop, of course, was to be London. And according to M, Londoners are incredibly difficult to understand. Now this is the part where it’s funny, and where I’m going to have to take some writer liberties to make it make sense, but in M’s words… “You just can’t understand them. They don’t pronounce their letters. Everything is just ahhh… ahhhrrr… where is the r? What happened to it? Why can’t they speak plainly?” And neither of us could contain our laughter. Apparently, New Mexicans are easy to understand. Woo! But the new phrase in our house is that British people just say "ahhhhh" 
Asians and photograph etiquetteThose of you who have traveled in the States, to places like Vegas, for example, probably have an inkling of what I’m going to say here. And I want to begin by saying that I in no way mean any offense by laughing about this. It was legitimately amusing to me, and I saw nothing wrong with the action, at all. Everywhere we went, we were surrounding by people from Eastern Asia. Especially the bigger tourist locations, like the Tower of London and Versailles. But when you’re trying to take pictures in these places, that’s where you realize just how funny it is. See, here in the States, we’re used to trying to keep a low profile. At least, where I live. So we try not to get in your picture. But the tourists in Europe couldn’t care less about your picture, and it’s hilarious. Half of your pictures end up with someone’s arm, head, or even camera phone somewhere in the lower half, if not in the whole image. The other thing I noticed, is that the few that travel alone often ask other people to take their picture. Not so weird, right? Except that they tend to ask everyone, and it’s freaking adorable. They’ll run around asking everyone to take their picture while they stand next to this semi-cool looking thing, and they get so excited to see the picture! It’s great fun, really, and can be a good chuckle as well.
BackwardThis one actually happens in the States as well. I know from experience. But it became more of a problem in Europe, where the crowds were dense and there wasn’t much breathing room, even on some of the sidewalks. People walk backwards, without looking what’s behind them. Well, I don’t want to say people… um… well, okay, it’s usually men. You know who you are. My dad is one of them. Mum and I are often preventing him from running into people because he’s backing up without checking his rearview (i.e. turning around to walk the other way). It happened all the time. I literally cannot count the number of men who backed into me, nor the number of them who had backpacks on and didn’t consider the fact that they’re now bigger than they usually are. Amusingly though, it’s nearly always men! I don’t know, maybe it’s that women are used to carrying a bag, or that we’re used to making sure we don’t run into people? I don’t know. But it’s men. Sorry guys, it’s you. And after a while, it just starts to get ridiculously funny. Especially when you’re slightly sleep deprived.
When all else fails, pushUnlike the last two, this one was a specific event, and happens to be one that we’ve continued to talk about since we’ve been back. See, as you know if you kept in touch with what we were doing while we were in Europe, we walked pretty much everywhere. That should've meant that we got very good at glancing down every so often to make sure we weren’t about to step in something… unseemly. But, of course, sometimes that was hard to do. There’s just so much to see! Allow me to set the stage. Mum and I were in Paris, on our second to last day in Europe, and we were looking for something. I don’t remember what. But I should also note that in London it had been rare to see very many dogs. I think we were in dog-free zones or something. I know they were there, because I saw dog fur on people and things, but I didn’t see the… erm… other evidence of doggies being around. Paris, however, was different. Maybe London spoiled us a bit, but we got slightly more used to looking up and straight, and not looking at the ground. But we were walking along, talking about nothing in particular, and I glanced down just in time to see the pile into which my mother was about to step. What do you do in such a situation? Time slowed. Stretched out. I watched her foot inching toward the pile, my eyes widening. And I did the only thing I could think to do: I pushed her. You should’ve seen the look on her face! She looked as though I’d just done her some severe dishonor by pushing her one step to the right, when in reality I’d saved her from stepping in a pile of… well… crap. I laughed. And laughed. And laughed. So hard that it took me more than a few minutes to explain what’d happened.
“They come in packs?!” The final, the most hilarious thing that happened while we were gone… starts with a Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie quote. You remember that part of the movie where the hobbits are at the prancing pony, and Merry comes back to the table with a pint of ale? Pippin’s next line is, “It comes in pints?! I’m getting one!” And it happens to be one of the most quoted movie lines in my family. Seriously, we say it all the time, for no apparent reason. We don’t even drink that much! Now, to Europe. Dublin, to be precise. We noticed something interesting, amongst the majority of men in this town: they don’t travel alone. And I don’t mean to say that they’re all coupled up. I mean to say that they travel in groups, or packs, as we liked to call them. Usually packs of three to six men. Funny thing was, if they came across another group of men, a resounding chorus of “Eyyyyy!” (the Fonz style) filled the streets, and the two packs became one conglomerate pack. It happened everywhere! I even saw it happen with guys in a car, passing a pack of men outside a bar. “Eyyyyy!” they shouted as they drove past, only to have the men in the bar shout right back at them, smiles on everyone’s faces. Even funnier thing was, most of these packs contained not only men, but freaking gorgeous men. Seriously, beautiful men. Rani was very happy in Dublin. And thus we reach the butt of the joke: “They come in packs?! I’m getting one!”
Thanks, guys! Next week we’ll start getting back into our regularly scheduled programming. :)
[love]{Rani Divine}

Welcome to Paris!

For real, this time. These are all pictures I took in Paris, France, and sadly, these are the last pictures I'll be sharing from our trip, at least in Too Many Books to Count. If you want to see more, go check out my Facebook page. I'll leave them up for a while so you'll be able to enjoy them there as well.

But today, here, we start with the most iconic image of Paris. The Eiffel Tower.



Lady Liberty's little sister!






The view from the top of the tower: 



The Cathedral Notre Dame -- It's such a fascinating mix of architecture, that from the front or the side you wouldn't know it's the same building.





These were taken at St. Chappel, which is seriously so stunning that we were lost for words half the time we were inside.





More shots from the front of Notre Dame -- see how it looks nothing like the sides and rear?








These final shots are from the Luxembourg Gardens, the last place we visited before coming home to the wonderful US of A...







And that's all there is. That was Paris, a beautiful city that welcomed us with semi-open arms. It was the end to a fabulous trip, a trip that I would go back on in a heartbeat, and just sharing these images with you gets me super excited for the next time I go abroad.

Thank you for taking this adventure with me! Stay tuned for Friday's post, the end of our Top Five series!

[love]

{Rani D.}

Welcome to Paris

The day has finally come, by friends, that I've finished going through my pictures and can share the Parisian shots with you. (more London pics up on Facebook this morning, in case you hadn't seen!) This was the final leg of our trip, and also possibly the most stressful, but we still had a lot of fun. 
Today, we're focusing on one place: Versailles. 
These first few pictures are from the Palace itself, and the Hall of Mirrors, which is difficult to photograph due to the mass of other cameras in the way, but it's no less beautiful, I think. 





Now this is how you plant a garden! We went on musical fountain day, which meant there was classical music playing all around, and at regular intervals the fountains went off as well. So fun!










These last few were taken on our walk around the Grand Trianon, Petite Trianon, and Marie Antoinette's Hamlet, which are ridiculously huge and should really take an entire day to see, themselves. 











And these final few are on our return walk through the gardens, back toward the Palace itself. By this point, our feet hurt and we were hungry... but we'd still had so much fun, and I would go back in a heartbeat. 


...I couldn't help it...


Though Paris was confusing at first, Versailles was great. The people who worked there were very nice, the sights were amazingly beautiful, and we honestly couldn't get enough in in a single day. 
Wednesday, check in for pictures from the rest of our Paris trip! And Friday brings the humorous end to our Top Five series, so keep your eyes peeled!

And yes, that means after this week we'll be back to regular blog posting. NaNoWriMo, anyone?
[love]
{Rani Divine}

London! (Part 2)

As promised, more pictures from the lovely city of London! To begin, a place where we spent an abnormally large amount of time...
Trafalgar Square



 

 This is a picture of Her Majesty's Theatre, where Mum and I saw Phantom of the Opera.

 We would definitely go see it again!

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, rebuilt, of course, but no less cool to see in person. 

St. Paul's Cathedral, and the beautiful Millennium Bridge that just so happens to cross the Thames nearly directly toward it.





Westminster Abbey! Though almost every single one of the older buildings we saw was covered in details that made our jaws drop, Westminster had even more than that. Both inside and out, this is a place where you never want to close your eyes, just so you won't miss anything. 



Oh hey, I know this guy... He's just a short distance away from Westminster, and we didn't know he was there until we came across him. 

Kensington Palace, the home of Queen Victoria. Inside, they have an exhibit that's all about Victoria and Albert, and it's the sweetest thing. The walls are flecked with quotes from Victoria's journals, about falling in love with Albert, all leading up to his ultimate end.  I took a bunch of pictures inside, but I only have two or three that came out well, and of the zillion pictures I took of the gardens, I've selected but a few to share with you. More to come on other days, don't worry.








And of course, Selfridge's and Harrod's!


And then we say goodbye to London, and to the beautiful face of Big Ben... 

Next week, I'll show you some shots of Versailles. And don't forget to keep your eyes peeled for the final edition of Top Five, which absolutely promises to bring you a good laugh. 
[love]
{Rani D.}

Welcome to London! (part 1)

The day has come, my friends, for pictures from London! This is going to take a while. It may end up being three separate posts. Two, at the least. But for today I want to show you what I've gotten through so far of the mass of pictures I took on the trip! 
To begin, the Tower of London!
And what's the first thing you should do when you get there? Take a selfie, of course!

The White Tower itself:

I love how this portion of London is this amazing mix of old and new, historical buildings right next to new modern ones.



Our Beef Eater guide through the Tower Grounds, followed by of the Tower's former residents:


Tower Bridge -- not to be confused with London Bridge, which is actually just a plain boring bridge.


The Shard is seriously one of my favorite buildings in the world. It's literally like a glass shard sticking up into the London skyline, and it's beautiful.



We found a red phone box!




Buckingham Palace! The Queen wasn't in (there's a flag that flies when she's there), but that's no excuse to not take some pictures.




London was by far the funnest place we visited, and I honestly cannot wait to get back there and see everything all over again. It's a beautiful city, a wonderful place to visit, and seriously so much fun! 
I'll do my best to get some more pictures to you later this week!
[love]
{Rani Divine}